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Culture and media transform each other through mediatization. Mediatization interacts between culture and media through artifacts of material and visual culture to convey its messages to as many people as possible. Religion is an important component of culture, so it may be interesting to analyze the influence of mediatization on specific religious practices such as rites, particularly the rite of marriage. The processes of mediatization in marriage rites act performatively on physical and cultural space, and they are reshaping religious values and norms. Starting from the relationship between the ritual form of marriage and the physical shape of the architecture designed to host them, this article analyzes the relationship between mediatization and interfaith marriage rites. The objective is to show how the condition of inter-religiousness can demonstrate the presence of invariants in the structure of marriage rites and the architectural characterof the spaces where they take place. This article aims to demonstrate that the performative dimension of the space of marriage rites is based on these invariants, which are becoming one of the main tools through which mediatization is acting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is widespread concern about whether opening up changes cultural customs. However, empirical evidence remains limited. In this paper, we provide new evidence on this issue by examining the impact of trade liberalization on marriage payment customs in China. We first provide a conceptual framework based on a labor market perspective to illustrate how trade liberalization has driven changes in marriage payment customs. Then, using China's World Trade Organization accession as a quasi‐natural experiment, this paper uses the difference‐in‐differences strategy and China's large‐scale household survey data to conduct an empirical study. Our results suggest that trade liberalization has reduced marriage payments in China, especially the bride price but not the dowry. Evidence from industry and census surveys suggests that the declining earning ability of marriageable men and the increasing relative economic status of women have driven down the bride price from the supply and demand sides, respectively. We also find that the impact of trade liberalization has been concentrated on southern and rural households. In addition to the decline in the bride price, the bad practice of child marriage in China has also been alleviated as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family, which is one of the oldest and most established institutions in human history, has not always just been a reasonable arrangement for achieving biological continuance as well as sexual, emotional, and material support, it has also been one of the basic components for the creation of civilization, culture, and society. There are various types of families, one of which is the endogamous family formed by the custom of consanguineous marriage within a very defined and distinct group. Our article concentrates on the question of how modernity and prosperity have influenced endogamy in modern Iran and whether this will change historical patterns and traditions or, perhaps, only broaden them within Iran's newly developed and modern society. Our conclusion is that, in Iran's uncertain environment, tradition may actually be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to extract the values included in the Al-Bayan manuscript related to the state of Jalan in eastern Oman in the eleventh century AH through analyzing the jurisprudential fatwas to reach a general picture of the reality of the values prevailing in Omani society in the eleventh century. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used the inductive deductive approach to extract values from the jurisprudential issues related to Jalan, and to identify the Al-Bayan manuscript and its author using the manuscript, documents and references related to the study. The study reached a number of results about the Al-Bayan manuscript, its history, topics and the sheikhs whose answers were included in it, a brief about its author and his family, the works he carried out and his state during the era of Al-Ya'ariba and his care for the manuscripts. The study also extracted the values included in the jurisprudential issues related to Jalan in that period, such as caring about paying zakat, marriage customs, donating to those about to get married, the sanctity of people's money, organizing grazing, controlling ownership contracts, submitting to the authority of the judiciary, cultivating agricultural lands, investing in mosque funds and adhering to custom. The study recommended conducting more research on Omani heritage books, seeking to uncover more political, economic, social, educational, and other values in Omani jurisprudential encyclopedias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though displaced populations face exacerbated challenges that are associated with increased rates of child marriage, little research has elucidated the reasons behind such phenomena. The present study qualitatively explores the drivers and consequences of child marriage among Syrian refugee, Iraqi internally displaced, and host communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Specifically, it explores how vulnerabilities in displaced groups impact child marriage decision-making and how the host communities respond to and interact with shifting child marriage customs. Qualitative results demonstrated how child marriage drivers intersect on socioecological levels with a prominent undercurrent of gender inequality that affects marriage expectations. Though participants discussed similar drivers and consequences of child marriage, there was discordance in how those drivers influence child marriage in displaced and host populations. Integration of humanitarian sectors around prevention of child marriage, along with support for married girls, is necessary considering the current context of protracted displacement in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banging together pots and pans has become established as a common protest technique in Spain and across the world. Pot-banging can be linked to charivari: a centuries-old, Europe-wide, nuptial practice that subjected a marrying couple to mocking moral critique, which was also adapted for political ends. This article, however, distinguishes between nuptial charivari (the cencerrada) and recent political pot-banging (the cacerolada). The former suffered a process decline and disappearance while the latter, separately, was imported into Spain from Latin America in the late 1980s. The lack of connection between the two is reflected in different terms, but can be further established through close attention to their respective staging, gendered nature, meaning and sound. The case of Spanish pot-banging sheds light on the fate of 'traditions' during the Transition from the Francoist dictatorship to democracy, particularly in terms of changing notions of individual rights, civility and gender relations, and has implications for how historians approach the history of collective action. Historians should pay greater attention to how techniques are transmitted and learned within and across borders. The history of modern protest is perhaps more disjointed than modernizing approaches suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture and customs are habbits that have prevailed between generation in a society whose existence function as a guideline for thinking and acting in that society. The Gayo community who live in Banda Aceh combines the culture and costums of Gayo marriage with the costoms and culture of Coastal Aceh, so it is necessaary to study how its existence continus today. The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of the Gayo marriage customs held in Banda Aceh, identify the stages or processions of the Gayo marriage ceremony, and determine the influence of other cultures on Gayo marriage customs in Banda Aceh. The subjects in this study amounted to 4 people consisting of 3 people who carried out the marriage procession and 1 Gayo traditional leader. The results showed that the stages of the Gayo traditional wedding ceremony procession in Banda Aceh consisted of: the process of pre-wedding activities consisting of 4 parts: kusik, sisu, pakok, and paden; wedding preparations are divided into six parts: risk, resek, rise, kono, kite and teniron; the implementation of the marriage is divided into eight parts; studying, giving up, bejege, mah bai, beru, ukum deliberation, dalem ceremony and reckoning mas. The ceremony after the wedding consists of 2 parts, mah beru and mah kero. Of all these stages, there are several stages that accompany the Aceh Pesisir wedding customs such as the night of berinai, peusijuk, exchange of batil (betel places), eating besan on the day of the reception (eating with the bride's family), headdresses and aisle colors which tend to be bright colors. The bride and groom have held a traditional Gayo wedding ceremony in Banda Aceh and this happened because of the influence of the culture of the residents with various tribes living in one area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia's rich diversity encompasses various ethnicities, cultures, and religions, with deeply ingrained marriage customs such as the Sasak tradition of Merariq, which reflects a delicate balance between Islamic law and socio-cultural dynamics while facing challenges of persistence and extinction in modern times. This study aims to provide an overview of how local wisdom can be explored from various perspectives, particularly within the framework of Islamic law and the socio-cultural dynamics prevalent in Sasak society. This study employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive analysis method. The research involves data collection through observations in Terong Tawah Village, West Lombok, and interviews with various key figures, including youth leaders, customary leaders, religious leaders, and community members. Additionally, documentation related to the implementation of the Merariq tradition in Terong Tawah Village was conducted to ensure the validity of the obtained data. The research findings elucidate that the Merariq tradition still holds cultural significance but has been simplified to align with Islamic teachings. This tradition involves stages such as midang, memaling, nyelabar, akad nikah, sorong serah, begawe, and bejango or nyongkolan. Implementing the Sasak customary wedding ceremony or Merariq must be harmonized with Islamic understanding to ensure compliance with Islamic principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social institution of marriage, deeply established in the Nsukka cultural area long before the advent of Christianity, has undergone profound transformations due to the influence of Westernisation and Christianity. This seismic shift extends beyond marriage to impact all facets of the people’s cultural life. It has permeated nearly all African societies, leaving Africans with what appears to be a solitary choice of religious and cultural syncretism. The use of syncretism to manage the conflicting interests in Christianity and traditional religions is most evident in the Nsukka cultural area, where Christian marriage rituals have become significantly intertwined with traditional marriage rites and concepts, resulting in an uneasy hybridisation. This study, employing ethnographic observation and interview methods, delves into this complex and multifaceted situation to accurately gauge Christianity’s influence on marriage practice and its rituals in the Nsukka cultural area. The research findings reveal that despite the people’s adoption of syncretism in their religious practices, the cultural conflict, particularly in the context of marriage, has strongly fostered inculturation within the Christian church in the area. Nevertheless, the church must aim to transition from inculturation to inter-culturation, which could serve as a new model that might pave the way for a harmonious synthesis of Western and cultural marriage practices in Nsukka Igbo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the distinct marriage customs of two Hindu Bengali communities in West Bengal: the Brahmins and the Poundra-Kshatriyas. It delves into the rituals, actions, and symbols integral to the marriage processes of these groups in Kolkata. The Brahmins, at the top of the caste hierarchy, have specific marriage rituals that affirm their caste status. In contrast, the Poundra-Kshatriyas, who are at the lower end of the hierarchy, follow different practices. The study compares these rituals and the significance of various traditional actions and changes, drawing on memoir interviews, genealogies, and case histories. It interprets these actions within the context of traditional activities, local terminology, rituals, beliefs, and marriage symbols. The research indicates that the observed differences in marriage customs between the two communities are historically rooted and reflect their social interactions and the material and symbolic aspects of their relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marriage is administered differently within ethnic groupings of Batswana with each tribe observing and practising rituals and customs that are peculiar to it. This paper sheds light on the marriage customs of the Bakgatla ba a Mocha through its different phases, from its initiation, betrothal, the seeking of the hand of the woman's hand in marriage through to the wedding ceremony. The research methodologies that will be applied are semiotics and moral philosophical didactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proverbs are maxims that reflect the values, beliefs, and cultural heritage of a society. This study attempted to conduct ethnocultural analysis of two concepts, marriage and family, in the Chinese Paremiology. The topics of 'marriage' and 'family' are extensively covered in Chinese proverbs; hence this study aimed to find out how Chinese proverbs about marriage and family reflect the Chinese cultural view of these institutions. A sample of 333 proverbs from the Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs was chosen and was categorized into several categories like partner selection criteria, forms of marriage, divorce, remarriage, relations between husband and wife, mother- in-law and daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law and wife, parent-child relationship, and resolution of family conflicts. The study found out that most Chinese proverbs dealt with the concept of male superiority over women. A few proverbs presented the Chinese ethno-cultural practices adopted in choosing a spouse, marriage and family customs, and family values. The research has practical significance as the results can be used in compiling a guide to the study of proverbs, a dictionary of Chinese proverbs, and a corpus of proverbs in philological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "OPENING TRADITIONS: FROM AN EVENT TO A PROCESS Prolegomena to the inculturation of the marriage rite in Africa (Igboland)" explores the differences between Christian and traditional African marriage rites in Igboland, Nigeria. The author highlights the importance of understanding and discerning the central concerns and values of both rites in order to achieve an inculturated marriage rite that is authentically Christian and African. It is proposed to merge the rites in order to preserve the best of each and promote the communal dimension of the traditional marriage rite, while also articulating a sacramental theological perspective of the inculturated marriage rite. The stages of the marriage process in Jewish, Roman, and Christian traditions are also discussed, and the need to develop an inculturated Christian marriage rite in Africa that takes into account the different stages of the traditional marriage process and the involvement of the Christian community in building relationships is raised. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this article is a reflection on the notions of "making family," "being family," and "being kin" in the calon perspective. To this end, I make an empirical construction about the marriages among Brazilian calon families and how their configurations direct relations of descent and affinity when producing family and relatives in thec perspective. I sew the writing of this text in subsequent moments, in which, I write about the ceasing to be a child and the rites of marriages, and a case of separation between a calon marriage with a non-gypsy; later, I analyze the possibilities of marriages; and, I finish by writing about family networks and their importance in the procedural elaboration of the calon person in making himself or herself among 'family'. Hence, the importance of thinking about how marriages inscribe themselves in the lives of children. The data analyzed is part of a long-term research between the years 2013 and 2019, a time when I was ethnographically involved with calon family networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia Constitucional is the property of Revista Historia Constitucional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There are a quite number of rituals followed in the Nagarathar community. From birth to death there are a lot of important ceremonies and rituals that followed them. The present paper discusses their traditional beliefs, age-old, customs, ceremonies, and other religious attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analysis of links between marriage customs and nutritional status in Indonesia. • Patrilocality is linked to lower BMI in women, suggesting gender discrimination. • Matrilocality is associated with reduced discrimination against women. • Bridewealth practices are associated with higher BMI among both women and men. • Marriage customs should be explicitly considered in nutrition research and policy. Malnutrition remains a serious problem. While various nutrition policies exist, these often fail to consider cultural factors. We contribute to the literature on culture and nutrition, focusing on gendered differences in nutritional investment. Using representative panel data from Indonesia covering a period of 21 years, we analyze how ethnicity-based marriage customs are linked to the body mass index (BMI) of men and women. Patrilocal practices are positively associated with male BMI and negatively associated with female BMI, suggesting discrimination against women. Matrilocal practices are positively associated with female BMI when comparing with women in other cultural settings, but not when comparing with men. The practice of bridewealth is positively associated with male and female BMI when comparing to individuals in settings without this cultural practice. Wherever positive associations between marriage customs and BMI are observed, these are largest for those already overweight, whereas the negative association been patrilocality and female BMI is most pronounced among women who are underweight. Our findings suggest that marriage customs may reinforce nutritional inequalities. A better understanding of such links in different cultural settings is important for effective nutritional policies, especially given that different malnutrition problems coexist in many countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen rising numbers of Malaysian couples contracting cross-border marriages (CBMs) in Southern Thailand to "halalise" (render permissible) romantic relationships and secret polygynous unions. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork conducted at the Malaysian–Thai border, this article examines the Malaysian state's increasing bureaucratic intervention in these elopements, and the streamlining of marriage procedures in Thailand that raises the legal standard of these marriages to one recognised by Malaysian Syariah Courts. It argues that the strengthening cooperation between the Malaysian and Thai Islamic bureaucracies creates a level of standardisation and synchronisation that allows for a more facile recognition of each other's authority, and an easier "translation" of their policies, practices and certification standards. Although this unveils new pathways and possibilities for Malaysian couples to access intimacy halal (lawful) in Islam, Malaysian Syariah law and Malay custom (adat), it also facilitates men's circumvention of existing legal restrictions on polygyny in the Islamic Family Law. Through the lens of CBMs, this article illustrates how transnational and cross-border collaborations between neighbouring Islamic bureaucracies in Southeast Asia engender unintended but direct detrimental consequences in the everyday practice and experience of polygyny for Muslims in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a recent increase in the popularity of humanist (individualized and mostly secular) marriage ceremonies in Poland. The propagators of humanist weddings consider these rites of passage as an alternative to both civil ceremonies, which are seen as "bland" and "template," and also to their religious, especially Catholic, counterparts. The conducted research reveals the various motivations of people who decide on a humanist marriage ceremony. In addition to "nonreligious" or "antireligious" motivation, the analysis also pinpoints "anti-institutional," "individualistic," and "practical" motives. The paper analyzes these various motivations. It additionally addresses the issue of the individualization of humanist weddings and the limits of this process. By drawing upon Neil Gross's distinction between regulative and meaning-constitutive traditions, I argue that while humanist ceremonies are a sign of the undermining of the regulative traditions and their power, couples still deploy meaning-constitutive traditions to anchor their ceremonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archivio di Etnografia is the property of Pagina Societa Cooperativa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In a culture with a high degree of sexual freedom, an individual is less likely to know who his male ancestors are, thereby leading to loose family links. We establish an inverse relationship between sexual freedom and family ties using individual survey and minority‐level data from China. By employing traditional minority‐level marriage customs and labour intensity to instrument for contemporary individual attitudes towards sexual freedom, the two‐stage least‐squares estimates confirm the causal relationship between sexual freedom and family ties. Moreover, loose family ties tend to result in limited trust among family members and more reliance on contracts rather than blood relations when engaging in business with relatives. We confirm the hypothesis using individual survey and minority‐level data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of customary law in the South African legal system in the context of the Constitution's attempts to foster cultural diversity and a common citizenship. The article notes that the treatment of cultural rights by the legislature and the courts is an important indicator of how embedded the ideal of common citizenship is in South Africa after 25 years of democracy. Using the customary law of marriage to explore the impact of court decisions on this area of the law, the article concludes that there is cause for concern, especially in the determination of validity of marriage, which is in a state of disarray due to conflicting interpretations of the provisions of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. It suggests that the search for certainty in customary marriage is misplaced, urging instead an understanding of the processual nature of living customary law as opposed to treating this law as rule-centred. The article concludes by proposing that two core essentials should determine the validity of a customary marriage: the lobolo process and integration of the bride. The key consideration is that these two must be defined widely in the spirit of the values that underlie marriage for the community in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the marriage patterns of multi-ethnic people – who have one native-born and one foreign-born parent – born in Sweden (multi-ethnic Swedes). Based on Swedish register data from the period 1997–2016 and multinomial regression analysis, this paper looks into the generational transmission of inter- and intra-marriage for multi-ethnic Swedes versus mono-ethnic individuals who have two native-born parents (mono-ethnic Swedes). It also analyses specific partner choices for multi-ethnic and mono-ethnic Swedes as well as the contribution of other factors to their marriage patterns. We find that the odds of multi-ethnic Swedes marrying individuals with a foreign background are higher than those of mono-ethnic Swedes. Living in one of the three major cities was found to be the strongest predictor among other factors affecting marital patterns. Our results also show that highly educated multi-ethnic and mono-ethnic Swedes are slightly less likely to marry individuals with a foreign background than they are to marry mono-ethnic Swedes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cet article est consacré aux Principes du Code des Personnes et de la Famille au Mali et à son applicabilité dans le cadre de la célébration du mariage. L’importance de la célébration du mariage n’est plus à démontrer dans la société malienne. Si à un moment donné de l’histoire, c’està-dire sous le régime de la loi n°62-17 ANRM du 03 février 1962 portant Code du Mariage et de la Tutelle (CMT), seul l’officier d’état civil92 était habilité à célébrer le mariage au Mali, avec les exigences de l’heure, une évolution constante a abouti à la célébration par deux (2) autorités. Il s’agit là d’une avancée significative sur le fond dans le droit de la famille au Mali. Le Code des Personnes et de la Famille consacre une parfaite assimilation entre mariages civil et religieux au regard des conditions de leur formation, une similitude des formalités antérieures (publication du projet de mariage, la preuve du mariage). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which focuses on the 18th century snakeskin-finish beaker in the Metalwork Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest, Hungary. Topics discussed include the possible representation of the wedding of István Naláczi and Zsuzsanna Toldalagi through the engraving of their coats-of-arms on the beaker, the production of beakers with a snakeskin finish in Hungary and Transylvania, and the Transylvanian wedding customs during the 18th century.

The article explores the practice of nuptial counselling in French colonial Soudan, now Mali. The practice was to hire a woman outside the family to teach brides about their new social and family responsibilities, as well as to tutor them on their roles for their wedding night. Additionally, such counsellors were responsible for helping brides avoid witchcraft. Other topics include the role of women in Soudan society, marriage customs, and family relations.

Marriage patterns of the second-generation are gaining greater attention in the US and Europe. The majority of studies so far have concentrated on partner choices and transnational marriages. An interesting case in point concerns Turkish second-generation women in France who marry at a significantly younger age than all their male and female counterparts, a decision often justified along the lines of family taking priority. This article focuses on the marriage decisions of young French women of Turkish origin in Strasbourg, while scrutinizing their experiences in education and at work. Using biographical interviews, I examine the perspectives of young women who do (or do not) have early matrimony in their trajectories. Detailed analysis of the school and work trajectories of these young women shows how marriage can function as an alternative transition pathway into adulthood, providing an understanding of marriage decision that goes beyond cultural essentialist explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the changing nature and patterns as well as the social construct of traditional marriage and practices among the Owerre‐Igbo of Southeast Nigeria. In particular, it investigates the practice of heterosexual marriage, woman‐to‐woman marriage, child marriage, and the dynamics of bride price. It also analyses the eclectics that has come to characterise Igbo traditional marriages especially the plethora of cultural borrowings that have become features of Igbo traditional marriage practices in recent times. The research investigates how this acculturation has shaped the contemporary social construct of marriage as well as how it articulates with continuities and changes in Owerre‐Igbo social organization. The research found out that these changes were brought about by three major factors; (1) the extensive contacts which the Owerre‐Igbo have had with other ethnic groups, (2) the influence of Christianity and Western education, and (3) occupational influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the question of who is entitled to keep an engagement ring, when an engagement is ended. The 1926 English High Court decision of Cohen v Sellar has been adopted into Australian common law and provides a clear set of rules as to who is legally entitled to the engagement ring. In more recent times, several courts have questioned the modern relevance of the decision in Cohen v Sellar, culminating in a New South Wales magistrate explicitly refusing to follow this established precedent. This article examines the basis of the decision in Cohen v Sellar, its reception and treatment by Australian courts, and whether societal views regarding the nature of engagement, engagement rings and marriage, mean that the reasoning of the magistrate in Toh v Su is justified - and concludes that it is not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jasvinder Sanghera's autobiographical trilogy explores how the concept of shame is instrumentalised in the practice of forced marriage in South Asian British diasporic contexts. As corollaries in the various performances and perceptions of South Asian marriage customs, shame and honour operate as technologies of power that police South Asian women's sexualities and desires. This essay maps how the affect of shame oscillates between the private and the public spheres of family and community spaces in Sanghera's texts. The trilogy fulfils specific purposes: seeking respite from shame, gesturing towards modes of trauma work and healing from the violence and silence imposed through forced marriage, reconstituting negated selves at individual and community levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the hitherto understudied praxis surrounding marriage, in particular, temporary marriage, wife sale and marriage brokerage among Hawaiian Japanese from 1885 to 1913. It argues that marriage and gender relations of Issei men and women were far more complex and, at times, more disruptive than previously understood. It also argues how marriage and migration became a locus where immigrant women and men assumed greater agency over their lives by exploiting or defying the very links between marriage and migration that nation-states, Japanese and American, sanctioned and privileged. In doing so, the paper seeks to reconsider the persistence of the normative ideology of ‘good wife, wise mother’, that is, the Meiji-era ideal of womanhood, which has underpinned the historical portrayal of Japanese immigrant women as hardworking, loyal and faithful mothers and wives. The paper also seeks to show how deeply the history of early Japanese Hawai’i remained rooted in Japan’s long history of marriage, gender relations and its state engineering, despite an emphasis that scholarly research has tended to place on the impact of migration and the new Hawaiian context. Ultimately, the paper highlights that in many ways, the Meiji Hawai’i in which Issei men and women lived, worked and travelled was a world apart from the one that Meiji officials and American/Hawaiian bureaucrats strove to impose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sappho's fr. 111 V. is an important specimen of Sapphic epithalamia and of Greek wedding songs in general. At its heart, however, are textual uncertainties that prevent a comprehensive engagement with this fragment. This article offers a thorough re- examination of its text and metre. It first revises available approaches and discusses fundamental problems underlying all of them. Then, it analyses the text of the fragment, which serves as a basis for a new interpretation of its metre and structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While historians have increasingly examined inter-racial marriage, they have so far paid scant attention to intraracial marriage. This article tries to fill this gap in the scholarship by examining the practice of 'marrying light' in Jamaica from c. 1918 to 1980. Based on a wide range of sources, including memoirs and autobiographical fiction, it is particularly concerned with the motives for cross-colour marriage and the ways in which African-Jamaican children learned that 'marrying light' was an ideal to aspire to. It shows that colour, gender and class intersected in complex ways in 'marrying light' and that in most instances cross-colour marriages in Jamaica, like elsewhere, were a trade-off between one high-ranking variable and another. Due to the limitations of the source material, the article does not fully explore the extent of 'marrying light' and the quality of cross-colour marriages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1952, Māori forms of customary marriage were made legally invalid. This article investigates the application of a state marriage registration system to Māori in the early decades of the twentieth century that was designed to encourage Māori to conform to European marital models. It focuses, in particular, on how Christianity and English law were deployed as modernising forces by a new generation of Māori intellectuals who emerged in the 1890s under the banner of the Te Aute College Students' Association (TACSA), later known as the Young Māori Party. United by their Anglican faith, TACSA favoured a process of adaptive acculturation in certain areas of social life, where select customs were to be retained and protected, so as to secure demographic and cultural survival. Marriage was highly valued because it was linked to the collective interests of whānau (family) and iwi (tribe) in matters of land and inheritance. As marriage was linked to collective futures, the article argues that maintaining and protecting marriage customs was one strategy for holding on to culture, land and autonomy in the face of increasing state efforts to require Māori to conform to European norms and traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, through comparative historical analysis, examines the traditional marriage rituals of the Dungan diaspora in Kazakhstan. Dungans are Chinese-speaking Muslims who were forced to migrate to present-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan after the defeat of their revolt against the Qing dynasty from 1877 to 1888. The article focuses on the diversity of wedding ceremonies in three zones where Dungan settled in Kazakhstan: Zhalpak Tobe and Sortobe, two rural areas in the Zhambyl region; and Zaria Vostok, near the city of Almaty. I find that the local variations in traditional wedding ceremonies stem from their close intercultural and social cooperation with non-Dungan peoples—primarily Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Uyghurs, and Russians. The example of wedding rituals shows that, while Dungan existence in another cultural environment has stimulated the consolidation of their ethnic group, preserving many of the traditional archaic cultural features, it has also led to the transformation of the marriage ceremonies. I address a much-neglected pathway—the nature of borrowed elements in Dungan wedding rituals—and ask why the extent of borrowing varies from community to community even though the Dungan arrived from China with similar traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World is the property of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Population (00324663) is the property of Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Teenage pregnancy is among the main social issues that involves Sarawak teenagers. Teenage pregnancy may lead to various social, psychological, and physiological effects to the mother and child. Sarawak is one of the states in Malaysia that recorded a substantial number of teenage pregnancy cases. As such, an in-depth understanding of this issue may provide some important inputs for evidence-based sexual and reproductive health prevention programs. Therefore, the aim of this review is to identify the potential underlying social risk factors that might be contributed to teenage pregnancy cases in Sarawak. The literature review had identified at least six social risk factors that might contribute to teenage pregnancy cases in Sarawak. Those social risk factors were rural-urban migration, dysfunctional family relationship, flaws in marriage customary law, alcohol and drug abuse, low awareness on sexual and reproductive health, and pornography. A better understanding of this issue can strengthen the effectiveness of health education strategies toward improving sexual and reproductive health among the Sarawak's young population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wedding ceremonies celebrate marital unions of two individuals/families in accordance with socially sanctioned arrangements. Among the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria, weddings of various forms exist. Elaborate and relatively grand weddings are common among the Yoruba people but studies are insufficient on these weddings. More attention is thus needed to understand the trajectories and ramifications of these weddings especially within the socio-economic conditions and rapidly changing social environments that have implications for population and development. This article is therefore an attempt to describe contemporary marriage ceremonies among the Yoruba in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria and the meanings associated with the ceremonies. The article is a detailed ethnographic narrative of Yoruba marriage processes. Data Sources and Method: Primary and secondary data were gathered. For the primary data, qualitative research method was used. Data collection methods were participant observations (10 different wedding venues) and 15 in-depth interviews. Interpretive research approach through interviews, observations and pictures were used because of their capacities to extract reliable contextual meanings and implicative elements of social realities. Secondary data were gathered from journal articles, books, newspaper clippings and reliable internet sources. Data analysis was done through content analysis of texts and pictures. Results: Findings reveal very original and dynamically creative ways of celebrating weddings and significance of such weddings among the Yoruba people with implications for better understanding of Africa's socio-economic and cultural systems, population and development. Conclusion: Weddings are significant social realities in context. While they preceed family formation and traditionally crucial, they are both physical and cultural just as they are systematically symbolic and demonstrative of familial and sociocultural statuses and class in Africa. Weddings in the context are indication and legitimation of identity and existencies and these have strategic implications for social change, cultural systems and population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on wedding as a blessing action in which the spouses donate the sacrament to each other. The author asserts that the only decisive ecclesiastical and spiritual action at the marriage is not the declaration of consent, but the act of blessing. The author believes that an ecclesiastical marriage is not a blessing, not just among other more important things , but in its innermost core.